Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus which are capable of communication, and a control method thereof.
Description of the Related Art
A print apparatus such as an inkjet printer generally includes a mechanism such as an ink tank that holds ink to be used for printing. In this case, the print apparatus monitors the ink remaining amount or used amount to, for example, prevent the ink from running out during printing, as in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-000892 (to be referred to as literature 1 hereinafter). Especially a mechanism using a detachable ink tank interchangeable by the user needs to notify the user of the ink remaining amount or used amount and prompt him/her to exchange the ink tank in some cases. For this purpose, the print apparatus records a device status such as an ink remaining amount in its internal memory. There is also proposed a system that more accurately manages the ink remaining amount or the like by writing it in a non-volatile memory provided in the ink tank, as in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-234192 (to be referred to as literature 2 hereinafter).
On the other hand, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-006016 (to be referred to as literature 3 hereinafter) proposes a system that provides a short distance wireless communication unit in a print apparatus, obtains print data from an external apparatus, and notifies the external apparatus of an error.
The device status of the print apparatus is recorded on the internal memory of the apparatus in literatures 1 and 3 or on the memory of the detachable mechanism in literature 2. For this reason, to obtain the device status, the print apparatus needs to be activated, and the user needs to wait for activation of the print apparatus. Particularly in a print apparatus constituted as an inkjet printer, preparation for printing such as preliminary discharge is performed at times even if printing is not performed. Hence, unnecessary ink is consumed in addition to the time to wait for startup of the print apparatus.
That is, generally, to confirm the state of an apparatus, activating the apparatus is indispensable. To activate the apparatus, a specific time is needed. In addition, consumable items may be consumed, as in an inkjet printer. Hence, a general information processing system cannot meet requirements to operate an apparatus after status confirmation or select an apparatus to be activated from a plurality of apparatuses after status confirmation.